


Bastards, outcasts and beautiful

by ItsMirkwoodGirl



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Anidala, Crossover, Dragon AU, Flying, Multi, Qui-Gon Jinn Lives, codywan - Freeform, half-dragons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-09-13 20:38:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16899501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsMirkwoodGirl/pseuds/ItsMirkwoodGirl
Summary: For almost 40 years, dragons and humans have lived alongside each other in peace. This peace however is suddenly endangered after the crown prince of Corusant has been found dead - without a head. A new war threatens to break out, and Obi-Wan Kenobi must find a way to prevent it. But how can he unravel the secret of Prince Maul's murder without revealing his own secret?





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!  
> So, this is gonna be a SW AU Story based on a dragon novel called "Seraphina" by Rachel Hartman. I adore that book, and I love its approach of dragon kind; it reminded me of the Jedi, the way that they try to avoid feelings etc. soooo... yeah. You don't need to know the book though, all you need to know is either gonna be explained in the author's notes or in the story itself.   
> So, for this first chapter you need to know the following: Dragons can take human form (well, some of them). There's two different kinds of dragons, Saar and Quikgutl. Saar look kind of like Smaug in "The Hobbit" and Quiks are... smaller, and they don't have wings, and they're less intelligent then Saar. Saar can take human shape, which is called "Saarantras" (plural "Saarantrai").   
> Basically, in this fic, the Saar replace the Jedi. I'll also use a storyline that is similar to the line of "Seraphina" and I'll ignore / change some stuff from the original in order to do so.   
> Apart from that: I'll not be pissed if you tell me that I have made a typo, I'll be happy about it, since I am not a native speaker, so don't be shy to point those out! I am happy about all kinds of feedback or critique, and yeah, that's all for now. I hope you like it!  
> Loads of love,  
> Lotta

The dragon was big and scary and… snoring. Obi-Wan held his breath, eyes wide and heart racing. He couldn’t move, he could only stand there between the trees and stare at the gigantic creature that was asleep on the mossy ground of the forest clearing. Everything he had been taught about dragons in his short life filled his mind, there was no room for anything else to think about… _Dragons are dangerous, dragons are evil for they don’t have souls, beware of the big, bad dragons, a dragon has no soul, dragons are monsters, dragons don’t feel anything, never wake a sleeping dragon, never tease a dragon or it will bite you, dragons do not have souls, a dragon doesn’t have a soul, a dragon…_

Without even wanting to, Obi-Wan let out a whimper. It was only barely audible, but it was enough to wake the dragon. It raised its head, its neck formed into a curved shape in a graceful way, one big, fiery golden eye stared down at the boy. The dragon was covered with dark blue scales and had wide greenish wings that were folded on its back. Two pairs of bone-coloured twisted horns crowned its head. It growled, a deep and rumbling sound, and then, suddenly, images started flooding Obi-Wan’s mind, memories – memories that weren’t his own, hundreds of memories that didn’t belong into his head, that weren’t a part of his own mind…

Later on he couldn’t remember what had happened afterwards. He woke up un a small room that was lit by several candles. He was lying in a small bed, which was strange since he didn’t _have_ a bed… the sheets were slightly damp, and he was soaked with sweat, and he felt hot and cold at the same time, and _Gods_ , his whole body was aching!

Fingers brushed the hair out of his face and over his forehead, pleasantly cool against his own hot skin, and when Obi-Wan looked up, he saw that the hand belonged to a man that was sitting next to the bed. He looked as if he hadn’t gotten enough sleep; there were dark shadows under his blue eyes. His brown hair was streaked with silver and grey and pulled back into a loose ponytail, and his beard was neatly trimmed. His clothes were very simple, but they were clean and there were no holes in them.

“Shhht”, the man said and ran a hand through Obi-Wan’s hair. “You’re safe here, little one.”

Obi-Wan tried to speak, but he felt bile rising up in his throat instead. Quickly, he leaned over the edge of the bed and started vomiting. It hurt, and he could hear the man wincing in sympathy. He got up, just to return almost immediately after. He held a bowl under the boy’s head and rubbed his back in small circles with his other hand. Once he was sure that Obi-Wan was finished, he helped him lay back down.

“I’m sorry”, Obi-Wan whispered. The man smiled softly and handed him a bit of cloth to wipe his mouth with, before bringing a cup to his lips. With one hand, he pushed Obi-Wan’s head up so he could drink without choking. It was water, mixed with something else Obi-Wan couldn’t identify. Some kind of healing herbs, maybe. Hopefully.

“Sleep, little one”, the man said after the boy had taken a few sips, putting the cup onto the nightstand. “You’ll feel better soon.”

And Obi-Wan closed his eyes obediently and fell asleep.

 

_Wings carried the she-saar through the air, one single flap was enough for moving forward several body-lengths; the wind was cold on the warm scales, the long tail steadied her slender form, her neck was stretched out and it felt so, so right!_

_Behind her, another Saar roared, a playful sound, and the She-Saar answered with a short shriek of joy. The general wouldn’t approve of their strong emotions, but he wasn’t here, and he sure did not know how wonderful it felt to be up here, to move through the clouds and over the tops of the mountains, and how wonderful it was to be this alive!_

_She straightened up in the middle of the air, moving upward now instead of forward, before she elegantly turned around again and let herself fall, straight like an arrow. Alive, the blood in her veins seemed to chant. Alive, alive, alive, alive…_

_She could hear as well as sense the other Saar gather around her, her wing beats sounded like waves hitting a flat sandy beach, their roaring loud and triumphant - free, free, alive, free, alive..._

 

When he woke up the second time, there was a cold wet cloth on his forehead, and the room was darker than before; only one candle was burning on the nightstand.

“Hello, little one”, the man said. When Obi-Wan turned his head, he could see him sitting at the same spot he had been sitting in the first time. He smiled down at him and gently ran his knuckles over Obi-Wan’s cheek. “You’re a heavy sleeper.”

“Who… are you?”, Obi-Wan managed to ask. His voice wasn’t more than a whisper.

“My name is Qui-Gon Jinn.” The man answered. “I found you in the woods, you have lost conscience there. I figured you didn’t have family, so I brought you here. You fell sick, but that will pass.”

Obi-Wan nodded understandingly. He knew that everything about his appearance told the man (or anyone else who saw him) that he did not have a family. His clothes were to small and stiff from dirt, he was extremely diry and his reddish hair was way too long, falling around his face and down over his shoulders. He also knew that his bones stuck out under his skin as a result of his malnourishment. No-one with a family, no matter how poor, looked this horribly, especially not a child. Children in a family ate first, adults second. A street-rat like Obi-Wan ate when he found something to eat.

“What do you… want from me?”

“Don’t worry, I don’t want to hurt you”, Qui-Gon Jinn promised. “You’re safe here with me.”

“Why…” Obi-Wan licked his lips and tried again: “Why do you help me?”

Qui-Gon’s blue eyes became darker with sudden sadness. “Because I could never leave someone in need to die.”

He took the bit of cloth from Obi-Wan’s forehead, put it into a small bowl that was sitting in his lap and started smoothing it over the boy’s face. The cold water helped with the painful warmth. Obi-Wan moaned, closing his eyes.

“Would you tell me your name?”, Qui-Gon asked.

Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment, but then answered: “Kenobi.”

A soft chuckle. “Just Kenobi?”

“I… Obi-Wan.”

“Alright then, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Sleep now. You’re still weak.”

Obi-Wan nodded and allowed the sleepiness to take control once again.

 

_The cave was a little small for a fully grown she-saar, but somehow she had managed to fit herself in. Fine, alright, her tail was kind of squished against the rough wall, and her talons were numb because of the full weight of her body that was resting on them, and her neck hurt, but aside from that she was alright, and she liked the cave, and she had gotten inside of it out of her own, free will, so she really didn’t have any right to complain. She wasn’t thinking about her situation anyways; a song had gotten stuck in her head, a triumphant tune…_ _Duuh duuh da da da da  duuh duuh da da da duuh da da da duuuh…._

_She had first heard it when she had last been at the capital of Stewjon; a man had played it on a fiddle, a woman had accompanied him with a flute… She loved, loved, loved music. It made her feel alive, so so alive, almost like flying…Or like that pair of soft brown eyes which she couldn’t get out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried…_ _Duuh Duuh da da da duuh duuh da da da duuh ….  Duuh dun-dun-dun-duuuuh..._

 

The third time he awoke was because of the immense burning pain that seemed to be everywhere in his body. His left arm and his hip hurt the most, it was like fire, it itched, it burned, it hurt… dark wet scab had formed on his skin, and Obi-Wan tried to scratch it off, which only made everything worse. The wounds got infected, and in the following weeks, Obi Wan alternated between feverish nightmares – in which he saw a number of strange people with pale skin and half-formed limbs, splatters of silver liquid accompanied by loud pained screaming, sharp fangs snapping against each other, fire and roaring and the sound of fluttering wings – and short moments of wakefulness, in which Qui-Gon gave him medicine and spoon-fed him soup and water and tried to keep him from scratching his wounds open again. But finally, after weeks of sickness, his fever broke and Qui-Gon allowed him to sit up in bed. Only shortly after, the scab came off and revealed fine, pale scales. They had almost the same colour as his pale skin, with a silver-ish sheen, and they were soft like the ones of a freshly shed snake. Obi-Wan cried when he saw them, but Qui-Gon pulled him into a hug and cupped his face and told him over and over again that he would be fine.

“H-how ca-can I be f-fine?”, Obi-Wan sobbed. “I a-am gro-growing scales!”

“Do they hurt?”, Qui-Gon asked. Obi-Wan shook his head.

“Do they hinder you from doing anything you could do without them?”

Another headshake.

“There you have it, then.” Qui-Gon smiled gently. “You’re just changing a little, that’s all.”

“Into a monster”, Obi-Wan whimpered. New tears rose into his eyes.

“No, no.” Qui-Gon’s voice was soft and comforting. “No, you’re not turning into a monster, little one.”

Obi-Wan stared up at him in disbelieve. “ _Dragons_ have scales!”

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. “So?”

Obi-Wan couldn’t believe this. He crossed his arms. “Dragons are monsters!”

“And what makes you think that? They are very intelligent creatures.”

“Dragons… Dragons don’t have souls.” Obi-Wan felt stupid as soon as he had said it.

“That’s nonsense. Anti-dragon propaganda”, Qui-Gon told him. “Everybody’s got a soul. Everyone who says something different is either stupid or lying.”

He took Obi-Wan’s hand and started rubbing small circles onto the small palm with his thumb.

“Change isn’t a bad thing”, he explained. “It is the natural way of the ard. You’ll see, you’ll be fine.”

He got up and left the room, only to return shortly after with a small box which turned out to be a medical kit. He dabbed some kind of cool gel onto the scales and the sensitive skin around them, and wrapped soft stripes of fabric around them to protect them and to keep the gel where it should be instead of having it smear onto the sheets.

“Why is this happening to me?”, Obi-Wan asked, his voice thin and his words followed by a small hiccup. “I don’t… don’t understand, I…”

“When you were in the woods”, Qui-Gon said. “What happened? Why did you faint?”

“I… the dragon”, Obi-Wan said, trying very hard to remember. “It… it was looking at me, and then there were those memories, and…”  
“Memories?”, Qui-Gon interrupted him. He sounded very, very alarmed.

“What do you mean, memories?”

“Memories”, Obi-Wan said, shrugging. “Just memories… but not mine. That was the strange thing about it…”

“So you’re telling me there were another person’s memories in your mind?”

“It sounds weird, I know…” Obi-Wan stared down onto his hands. “But it is the truth, I swear!”

“Not yours then…” Qui-Gon seemed to talk to himself more than to Obi-Wan.

“No”, the boy answered anyway. “Not mine…”

“Before he could say anything else, Qui-Gon pulled him into an almost bone-crushing hug.

“It’s you”, he whispered. “It is you, it is really you, I found you…. I already gave up, I… I hadn’t hoped…”

 

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!  
> Yeah, I am alive. I forgot to mention it in the A/N of the last chapter: Updates will be coming very, very, VERY irregularly because 1) I don't always have time to write since I am working on a novel (well, trying to work on it) and I'll take my final exams next year and I already have to study for those and 2) I just don't always feel like writing Star Wars since I have fandom-swings (like mood swings, but with fandoms... I am completly into a fandom for a while, then another one, then another one... I am certain you know that feeling). However, I will not abandon this fic and I will continue to write it, I swear!  
> I hope you like this new chapter. If I won't post anything else this year: Have amazing holidays and a wonderful New Year, best of luck for 2019 for y'all!  
> Loads of love,  
> Lotta

The floor was cold against his bare feet as he sneaked through the small flat. His bandaged arm itched, he was shivering and scared, and looking for his uncle. His uncle, his uncle the Saar dragon, the older brother of his mother… it was weird to think of Qui-Gon like that. As a relative, as family.  Obi-Wan didn’t hate the feeling. It felt good to know that he wasn’t as alone anymore as he had always thought he was.

There was a faint streak of light shining out under the door of the study, and when he opened the door and peeked though, he saw Qui-Gon sitting at his desk, bent over a thick book bound in leather. More books and dozens of papers and obscure objects piled up on the table like a mountain rage. The room was lit by a large candles under a yellow-ish glass cover with small holes at the top.

“Hello, little one”, Qui-Gon said when Obi-Wan entered. “What troubles you? Another bad dream?”

Obi-Wan nodded. Qui-Gon smiled and motioned for him to come closer. Obi-Wan complied and let himself be lifted onto his uncle’s lab.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Obi-Wan nuzzled against Qui-Gon’s thick soft robes and sighed. He actually did not want to talk about his dream, but in the two weeks he had lived with Qui-Gon he had had many dreams and nightmares like this one – all of them memories – and Qui-Gon had encouraged him to speak about them so they wouldn’t frighten him.

“There was... blood”, he said slowly and with a shudder. “So much blood… white sheets covered in silver blood, and it… it smelled of blood and… and something else. I don’t know what. And there was shouting and screaming, and… _pain_. It hurt so much, it hurt worse than anything I know…”

Qui-Gon started running a hand through Obi-Wan’s hair. It had gotten softer and shinier since he was here, eating every day and with the possibility to wash it.

“Anything else?”

Obi-Wan pursed his lips and thought about it. “Fear. And… hope? I think it was hope. Hope for a better future for… for someone else?”

Qui-Gon hummed softly. “Oh Eskar… that must have been her last memory.”

“My mother’s last memory? You mean, before she died?”

Qui-Gon nodded. “I’m afraid so. I am so sorry you had to experience that…”  
“I think she died when I…” Obi-Wan didn’t know how to say it. “It was a bedroom. I know it was. A bed, sheets, white walls and all that silver blood.”

“Maybe”, Qui-Gon said. “Or a medical wing somewhere. And yes, I am afraid she died when she… delivered you.”

Obi-Wan shuddered again. He did want to know more about his mother, other than the things Qui-Gon could tell him, but he had not wanted to know about this little bit.

“It’s not your fault, little one”, Qui-Gon said. “A case like this is not known of. She couldn’t know that Saarantrai could even get pregnant, let alone deliver a human baby.”

Obi-Wan looked at his bandaged arm. “More or less human.”

“You know what I mean. You didn’t hatch, you were born.”

Obi-Wan nodded. He still hadn’t completely gotten used to the way Qui-Gon talked. He had a deep and warm voice, a nice voice, and he never got loud. He also never euphemised anything, he didn’t dumb things down for Obi-Wan just because he was a child. Obi-Wan appreciated that. Living on the streets had forced him to grow up faster, and he hated it when people treated him like a child even though he didn’t feel like one. Qui-Gon didn’t dumb down things now, either. He didn’t try to make things seem softer or less horrible than they were. Obi-Wan’s mother had died when giving birth, it was as simple as that, no need to pretend it hadn’t happened like that.

 “I have contacted the Ker”, Qui-Gon said now. Obi-Wan looked at him with raised brows. “What is a _Ker_?”

“The Saar council.”

“Oh.”

“They want to talk to us”, Qui-Gon continued. “They aren’t all too fond of me, but they all loved Eskar, and they want to meet you.”

“Am I going to be shown of like some animal?”, Obi-Wan asked. Qui-Gon shook his head. “No, little one, you won’t. I would never let them. They just demand to see you before I start teaching you.”

“I don’t like that”, Obi-Wan said. “Why do they have a say in it? They didn’t care about me for nine years, why now?”  
“You’re special.” Qui-Gon rubbed his hand over Obi-Wan’s shoulder. “I told you, Saar usually don’t approve of emotions or attachments, and Eskar always followed the moral code of the Saar religiously. The fact that she had a child with a non-Saar is a scandal.”

“Still don’t like it”, Obi-Wan murmured. Qui-Gon chuckled. “Neither do I. I never thought much of that code, and I won’t let them see you as an object or their property, scandal or not. I’m just trying to explain to you why they want to meet you.”

Obi-Wan sighed and nodded as a sign of understanding, before closing his eyes and snuggled closer against Qui-Gon’s chest.

“That’s right. Sleep, little one”, Qui-Gon said gently. “You’ll need to be well rested tomorrow.”

 

Over the last two weeks, Qui-Gon had told Obi-Wan a lot about the Saar and their code and the way their politics worked. Saar was the correct name for dragons (well, for the kind of dragons everyone knew – there was another kind, though Qui-Gon didn’t say anything else about them besides the fact they existed) and they had learned to take human form many centuries ago. This human form was called a Saarantras. Generally, Saar preferred their natural shape, since the thing they values above anything else was logic and something they called _Ard_. The Ard was the natural order of all things, of every form of life, it was perfect organized energy and the contrary to emotions. Saar thought of emotion and attachments to things or people as weak, and they tried everything to suppress this so-called weakness. Qui-Gon had also told him that he, personally, didn’t think highly of this way of living. “Emotions are just as natural as logic”, he had said. “And while attachments may affect one’s ability to judge, it’s not right to suppress anything this natural.”

The Saar were living about everywhere in the world, mostly in small groups – tribes – and isolated from humanity. There was a leader, like a king for every Saar in the world, called the Ardmagar – keeper of the Ard – and while he was in position and power to make big or small decisions for the whole Saar population, he usually relied on his council, the Ker. The Ker consisted of a big group of Saar the Ardmagar thought of as especially trustworthy, and it held council in a small building at the outer border of the city. When they arrived at said house the next day, Obi-Wan was surprised by how normal it looked, no difference to any other house in this area…

 “Are you ready?”, Qui-Gon asked, and when Obi-Wan nodded, they both entered. The door wasn’t locked.

A girl with greenish skin and a black veil awaited them in the hallway and led the way to a big, round room without saying a single word. Qui-Gon nodded at her, and Obi-Wan mouthed a “Thanks” before following his uncle into the room.

Many Saarantrai were sitting there, lined up with the round walls of the room, on simple wooden chairs with high backs. There weren’t any chairs for Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. The Ardmagar was sitting in the middle, facing the door. Obi-Wan only recognized him as the Ardmagar because Qui-Gon had told him a little about him. Well, his exact word had been “small, green and irritating”, but that was enough for Obi-Wan to recognize him. His Saarantras was the shape of a very short and very old man with large pointed ears and only three fingers on each hand. His skin had a slightly green shade and was wrinkled like a dried fruit, and he leaned onto a crooked wooded cane even though he was sitting. He was wearing similar brown and white robes as Qui-Gon, as did most of the other Saarantrai of the Ker. Most of them looked more human than the Ardmagar, though there was something about them that was strange… the way they sat on their seats, the way they moved their heads and eyes. Unlike Qui-Gon, they didn’t seem to feel comfortable in their human bodies, they seemed to feel uncomfortable. Obi-Wan wondered whether being in a body one wasn’t born in was similar to wearing clothes that were to small and tight.

 “My fellow Saarantrai”, Qui-Gon said, bowing slightly. Obi-Wan imitated the gesture.

“Qui-Gon Jinn”, a Saarantras with dark brown skin and bald head said. His voice was warm, though very formal. He had the same Corusanti accent Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had. “It’s been a while since you were last here.”

“It was, Mace.” Qui-Gon’s face remained emotionless, like a mask; only his eyes showed that he was actually truly happy to see that man.

“Expected you, we have”, the Ardmagar said. His voice was incredibly rough, and he had a foreign accent that Obi-Wan didn’t recognize. “Brought it with you, I see.”

“Yes.” Qui-Gon placed his hand on Obi-Wan’s back. “This is my sister Eskar’s son.”

“It is smaller than expected”, another Saarantras said. This one was tall and had an oval head shape.

“Saar Mundi”, Qui-Gon said. “Obi-Wan’s a male. The pronoun you should use is he.”

“Isn’t it infertile?”, a female Saarantras asked. Obi-Wan flinched and felt anger rise inside of him.

“No, I believe my sister’s son is fully capable of fathering children one day.” Qui-Gon’s voice was still in perfect control, as was his face, but his eyes showed his annoyance and anger about the effrontery of his fellow Saar. “But fertility isn’t important when it comes to choosing the pronouns anyway. Humans use them fit to the gender they are either born with or feel as.”

It was strange to hear Qui-Gon lecture the Ker about something as mundane as pronouns, Obi-Wan thought.

“But human, he is not”, the Ardmagar said. “Eskar’s son, he is.”

“He seems to be more human than not”, the dark-skinned Saarantras – Mace – said. “He smells more human than any Saarantras.”

Obi-Wan let out an indignant sound. What was that supposed to mean, he smelled normal, clean even…

“We Saar can recognize others of our kind by smell”, Saar Mace told him. “And you don’t have that certain scent on you. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Obi-Wan nodded quickly to show he understood. Mace, he decided, seemed to be one of the more sympathetic Saarantrai on the Ker.

“It doesn’t matter whether he is Saar or human”, a female Saarantras with green-golden eyes said. She didn’t look anywhere in particular, and her eyes weren’t quite focussed; maybe she was blind? “He is a part of the Saar community because of his mother, we don’t need to know more than that, do we?”

“Thank you, Tahl”, Qui-Gon said. Tahl smiled, moving her head in Qui-Gon’s direction.

“Happened before, this hasn’t”, the Ardmagar said. “Questions, we have. Normal, these questions are.”

Obi-Wan felt a sting in his heart. He felt a little sick… he didn’t like the way all those Saarantrai stared at him, and he didn’t want to be asked questions he couldn’t answer, and he…

“The boy is not your property, Ardmagar Yoda”, Qui-Gon said, seeming to sense Obi-Wan’s discomfort. “And I’ll have to ask you all, my fellow Saar, to accept that I will take him back home now. You have seen him, which is all you asked for, and he is still recovering from being sick after his scales grew.”  
“You only follow the rules you absolutely need to follow, don’t you, Jinn?”, Saar Mundi asked. “But since we don’t have any reason to keep you here, you’re free to leave. Before that, though, may I suggest to the Ker to give young Obi-Wan the same status in our ranks any hatchling would receive?”

Mumbling and whispering.

“Good idea, Saar Mundi”, Tahl said. “I agree. If Eskar’d had a normal hatchling, he’d be accepted as a member of our community; a youngling born from her Saarantras body should have the same right.”

There were some more discussions, but Qui-Gon quickly said his good-byes and left, Obi-Wan following him.

“I am sorry if they behaved in a rude way”, Qui-Gon apologized when they were on their way back home. “Most of them don’t know how to deal with humans, or don’t know human customs.”

“It’s alright.” Obi-Wan shrugged. “I liked Saar Tahl.”

“Tahl’s a good friend of mine”, Qui-Gon said. “I am glad you like her.”  
“What are the rights of a hatchling?”, Obi-Wan asked. “Tahl mentioned those…”

“Just some basic rights. If in danger, a hatchling can ask for protection with any Saar and is to receive it, and if they need help as well. Tahl wanted the Ker to accept you the way a normal child of Eskar’s would be accepted. You’d have it a lot easier if they voted in favour for that. You’d become a member of the community instead of an outcast.”

“Oh. Alright.”

 

Later that day, Saar Tahl came to their flat. “The Ker had decided that Qui-Gon is allowed to teach you”, she told Obi-Wan. “He’ll teach you the ways of the Ard as much as he is comfortable with… he’s no fan of many of the rules.”  
“I know.”

The blind Saarantras chuckled. She, similar to Qui-Gon, didn’t seem to have a problem with emotions and attachments. Obi-Wan was strangely glad about that.

“And I’ll try to be of help”, she added. “I am currently teaching a hatchling who’s been abandoned, it will be nice to teach the two of you at the same time.”  
“Why do I have to be taught anything anyway?”  
“Because you could start going with Qui-Gon when he’s on a mission the Ker assigned him to”, Tahl said. “He does that, occasionally… we Saar have to interact with others of our kind and other dragons, and humans of course… Qui-Gon’s an ambassador for the Ker, most Saar are. You could be, too.”

Obi-Wan liked the idea. He wanted to be of use, and if he had work to do, he didn’t have to think about the scales all over on his body… _the silver_ as he had started to call it. He decided he would do anything to please Qui-Gon, that he would study hard and long and much until he was no longer Eskar’s son but a useful part of the Saar community. He wouldn’t be weak, he wouldn’t be useless. He couldn’t be, he couldn’t allow himself to be… He wouldn’t…

In the following years Qui-Gon taught his nephew about the history of the Saar and humans, taught him how to read or write, taught him basic logic and mathematics, taught him how to fight with a dagger or a sword, taught him to read maps, taught him about war and battles, and – most importantly – taught him how to create a mind garden. Saar preferred to keep their minds and memories organized and tidy, without anything that could annoy or distracts, and there was a way to create a spot in his mind where he could go if he meditated. Here, he locked his memories, in a wooden black box he imagined, and here he also locked in every of his mother’s memories. She had somehow – apparently a thing all female Saar could do – gathered every important memory into a little mind pearl which had unlocked itself when he had first seen Qui-Gon’s. That was the reason he had dreams and nightmares of his mother dying… dark horrible nightmares he now learned to push aside and to hide. He still dreamt after that, but it helped to lock most of them away. And he swore to himself that, half human or not, he would be a very, very good…. Well, not Saarantras, but whatever it was that he was. He would show the Ker and Qui-Gon that he was good, that he was worthy of going on missions with Qui-Gon, that he followed the Saar moral code, that he was _useful_.

 

**To be continued….**


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!  
> I hope you all spend a wonderful Christmas! I am surprised by myself, but I actually managed to write another new chapter (I was painting for all Christmas, and there wasn't much time, you see), so here you have it. This one's a little shorter than the others, but well. Oh, by the way, I descided to change the age of the characters a little - Luminara, Quinlan and Obi-Wan are somewhere in their mid- or latetwenties, Anakin and Padmé (who'll appear in the next chapter) are more in their early twenties. Everyone else is about the age they are in the original. Also I made Quinlan Mace Windu's nephew because... reasons.  
> Anyway, I hope you like it - comments will be appreciated greatly!  
> Loads of love,  
> Lotta

 “Uargh, this is so typical!” Obi-Wan ran one hand through his hair. “Why exactly do we always have to run after him? I mean, why is it always us?”

“Because we are his friends.” Luminara sighed. “And he’s a good Saar besides his… liking of alcohol.”

“ _Obsession_ might be a better word for it.”

“Yes, it might.”

Many years had passed since the day Qui-Gon had brought Obi-Wan before the Ker. Since then, he had learned the ways of the Saar and the Ard and for three years he had been allowed to go on missions for the Ker. He was still young in their eyes – twenty-six years, almost twenty-seven – but he was very talented in terms of using his words and had proven a good negotiator and diplomat. He also didn’t feel uncomfortable around humans, which was another valuable trait of his. He, unlike the Saar, understood emotion and didn’t suppress it the way the Saar did, though he tried his best to control them and to keep them at bay. He didn’t have any friends that weren’t Saar, and they didn’t understand the need to talk about emotional things, so he kept everything to himself. He had also stopped telling Qui-Gon everything that worried or frightened him, not wanting to bother him too much and too often. The only person he knew who was similarly comfortable with emotions as he was, was Quinlan Vos. He was a nephew of Saar Mace Windu and quite rebellious, and he had an unsettling obsession with alcoholic beverages. He was clever though and had an intuition that was second to none. The two men paired with Luminara, who followed the Saar code religiously and never, ever lost her patience, who was always focused on the problem and situation, they made a good team. They also were very fond of each other, they were close – closer than most Saar on the Ker liked – and they always looked out for each other, which was why Luminara and Obi-Wan were now on their way into the Quikgutl ghetto at the outskirts of the city. Because Quinlan had disappeared once again, and if they didn’t go and got him, he’d probably drink himself into a coma again. That was something they really didn’t need now.

“One day he will kill himself with that behaviour”, Luminara sighed. Obi-Wan nodded. “Probably.”

 

 

As they passed under the ghetto's wooden archway, he placed one hand on his leather bag and the other on the hilt of his sword, a long blueish blade with a metal hilt he had gotten from Qui-Gon for his nineteenth birthday.  In the ghetto, chances were high someone tried to pickpocket them, it was for the best to keep one’s property close to oneself.

“Where do we try it first?”, he asked. Luminara pointed at a small tavern. The ghetto was full of little pubs like this one, where smugglers and thieves and all other sorts of grimy shady people met up. Strangely, these were Quinlan’s favourite places to drink at.

“He’s always in there”, Luminara said. “Why would we need to look anywhere else? That wouldn’t make any sense.”

“Yeah, but it’s Quinlan. He’s not as logical as you are.”

“True. Still, we should try there first."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Alright. Let’s go get our third.”

 

The taproom was small and smoky, and it stank of sweat and greasy food and beer and a lot of other things that got even more disgusting in that mix than they already were. Quinlan was seated at a round table in a corner and stared into his cup. Beneath his table sat a few Quiks hissing softly in incorrect Mootya. Obi-Wan understood little of their conversation – the smaller dragon species spoke the old language much less than the Saar, because of their tongues which were hollow like reed.

“Leave now!”, he demanded in Mootya. “Go and annoy someone else.”

The Quiks hurried to crawl away, hissing at Obi-Wan angrily. Quinlan looked up.

“Hello to you two”, he said. His dark voice was slightly slurred. “How absolutely wonderful to see you.”

“Quinlan…” Luminara sighed once again.

“What? What’s wrong with going for a drink?”

“You’re Saar Windu’s nephew and ward, you’re a representative of the Ker…”  
“As if anyone in a goddamn Quik-ghetto cared about the Ker!”

“Still, you’re not behaving the way a Saar should…”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. “Could we, maybe, not do this in here? Because people are staring.”

“Oh. Yes, of course.” Luminara nodded. Quinlan mumbled something that was rather inappropriate for a Saar, but he stood up, dropped some coins into his empty cup and followed his friend out of the pub.

“Why are you here?”, he asked. “I was alright there…”

"You have to be with Ker in an hour!”, Luminara said, clearly trying to contain her anger. “And we could not find you anywhere ... and you smell that awful drink! Saar Windu will not approve of that..."

"Oh, shut up already, my uncle knows me well enough, who the hell cares if I stink?"

"Obi-Wan, say something, please ..."

Obi-Wan sighed. "Luminara, leave me out of this, please."  

The rest of the way back to the centre of the city, he tried to tune their bickering out. It was still a tiny bit too early for him to listen to this. He was used to it, bickering was Quinlan’s normal way of communicating, but it could be annoying at times. Most times.

They heard the bells when they were almost at the market place. The church of Corusant Capital had no less than thirty-nine bells, big ones, small ones, every one sounding different. There was just one of them nobody in the city had heard for forty years, one that hadn't been rung since the war with the Saar had ended. The biggest, loudest and deepest-sounding one of them. And exactly this big loud deep old bell was to be heard right now, everywhere in town. Many people cringed or yelled in fear, cowering down, pressing their hands on their ears in attempt to block out the sound. Obi-Wan exchanged glances with Luminara and Quinlan. Both of them stared back at him with wide eyes. For once, Luminara's face wasn't the mask of perfect serenity, but instead showed how confused and nervous and scared she was.

"We have to go to Ker!" Quinlan said, obviously trying to maintain his usual bored and laid-back manner. Obi-Wan knew better. He was good at reading people and their body language.

"You go," he said. "I'm looking for Qui-Gon, he's somewhere near here today. He told me."

Luminara nodded, her fingers clinging to Quinlan’s arm. "Be careful!"

Obi-Wan smiled, hoping it was at least a little reassuring, then nodded. “Of course. Now go!"

He didn’t wait for his friends to leave, but turned around on his heel and walked away to look for his uncle. If didn’t surprise him that Luminara was shaken by the fact that the big bell was being rung; everyone in the whole kingdom of Corusant knew that it hadn’t been used since king Palpatine and Ardmagar Yoda had signed the peace treaty. The fact that it was ringing now couldn’t mean good – it meant danger, fear, possibly war…

 _Oh please, not another new war_ , Obi-Wan prayed. _Not again!_

He hadn’t been alive during the war, but the few glances he had gotten at it through his mother’s memories had been more than enough for him. Humans and Saarantrai dying miserably, huge Saar dragons being shot out of the sky… way too much of the red and silver blood of the two species had been spilled, and the peace was good for them both! The Ker did all they could to keep the Saar safe, to do what was best for them, Obi-Wan knew that, and what could be better for them than peace? NO, that wasn’t the question. The questions were _Who would want to end the peace, and why? What could possibly create the need to ring the war-bell?_

Obi-Wan found Qui-Gon near the church. He was talking to someone in black clothes and a silver chain who looked somewhat important, like someone of high rank. Obi-Wan didn’t recognize him though. The man was old, with a white beard and short hair of the same colour.

“Obi-Wan!”, Qui-Gon said as he noticed his nephew come closer. “Weren’t you to get Mace’s…”

“Already did that”, Obi-Wan said quickly. “The bell..”

“Yes, rather noisy, isn’t it?” Qui-Gon frowned. If he was as worried about the war-bell ringing as Obi-Wan was, he didn’t let it be seen on his face. “Obi-Wan, may I introduce you to Count Yan Dooku from Serenno?”

Obi-Wan bowed his head before the stranger in black. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, count.”

“The pleasure is all mine”, the count answered. “Qui-Gon, old friend, I don't believe you never mentioned an offspring.”

“Obi-Wan’s my sisters son”, Qui-Gon explained quickly. “And my apprentice.”

“I see.” The count nodded sharply. “Well, I will be on my way, the king must be waiting.”

“I’m sure he’s got other things on his mind right now. Farewell, count Dooky.” Qui-Gon turned around, pulling Obi-Wan with him.

“Uncle, what happened?”, Obi-Wan asked. “I feel like you know why they ring the bell?”

“I do indeed.” Qui-Gon pulled Obi-Wan into a small alleyway between two houses. “First things first, where are Quinlan and Luminara?”

“I sent them back to the Ker”, Obi-Wan answered. “We were on our way there anyways…”

“Good, that’s very good.” Qui-Gon nodded. “That’s safer than here…”

“What do you mean?” Obi-Wan forced himself not to let his impatience and nervousness leak into his voice. “What happened, uncle?”

Qui-Gon took a long breath. Obi-Wan had never seen him this shaken.

“Prince Maul went on a riding trip three days ago”, he said. “He returned today. So to speak.”

Obi-Wan held back a groan. Qui-Gon was never like this, he never held back information, ever…

“It’s not the Saar way to beat around the bush!”, he said. “What has happened?”

“You’re right, of course…” Qui-Gon nodded. “Prince Maul’s dead. Someone killed him. They suspect it to have been a dragon.”

“Why a dragon? Anyone could have done it!”

Qui-Gon laughed bitterly. “Oh yes - if anyone would be able to make his head disappear.”

 

**To be continued...**


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyheyhey, what is this? ANOTHER NEW CHAPTER! This is definitely the last one for this year though. Uargh, I am superduper-excited because my twin is coming home tomorrow and she lives in another state and I rarely see her, soooo... yaaayyy!!!  
> I hope you like this chapter!  
> Loads of love and have a great New Years Eve,  
> Lotta

“What are we gonna do now?”, Obi-Wan asked. “For how long have you know? When has the prince been found? Why did they choose to use the old war-bell?”

“They want to alert the citizens that something horrible has happened”, Qui-Gon said. “The bell wasn’t always the war-bell, it used to be one used when there was fires or sickness…”

“But everyone thinks there’s gonna be a new war!”, Obi-Wan exclaimed. “Because it is known as the war-bell. Nobody cares that it was used for other things too!”

“I didn’t make the decision, don’t shout at me.” Qui-Gon shrugged. “Saar Shaak Ti was at court when they brought him home, she told me about twenty minutes ago, through Quik.”

To tell someone something through Quik meant that a piece of Quik jewellery had been used; the Quikgutl dragons might be dumber than Saar, but they built extraordinary things, one of them being small silver devices that looked and could be worn as jewellery, but also allowed one to speak to other people over wide distances, as long as they had a matching piece – there were pairs and triangles and many others. The Saar used these devices all the time, whilst most humans didn’t even know about them. And Saar Shaak Ti was often at court, since she was the official ambassador of the Ker there…

“As for your first question, I don’t know yet”, Qui-Gon continued. “We’ll wait for new orders from the Ker.”

Obi-Wan pursed his lips and nodded. The new orders from the Ker came shortly after, also through Quik. Saar Agen Kolar’s voice sounded a little scratched through the device.

“You’re expected at court with Saar Shaak Ti”, he told Qui-Gon. “The Ardmagar is currently far away, and Saar Mace Windu’s busy, so you will represent them until they can come themselves.”

“Understood. Anything else?”  
“Make sure they don’t end the peace treaty too early.”

“I will try my best.” Qui-Gon pressed the head of his cat-shaped Quik-device and ended the conversation. “Obi-Wan, you will come with me. You’ll be useful.”

Obi-Wan nodded obediently, and they made their way to the palace. They were let in and lead into a hall where Saar Shaak Ti was already waiting for them. Her bronze face with the big white spots lit up in relief upon seeing Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. Her white-and-blue headscarf billowed behind her as she hurried over to them.

“Saar Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, I am glad to see you”, she said. “Some of the representatives of the other countries that signed the peace treaty have already arrived, others will soon be here and hear what happened. We must stop them all from ending the treaty, it must be extended like planned.”

“So much had been clear before, Shaak Ti”, Qui-Gon said. “But yes, we’ll do everything we can. The Ardmagar should be here though.”

“He chose to arrive here precisely the day he had said he’d arrive, no day before that.” Shaak Ti sighed. “I am in no position to criticize the Ardmagar of course, but I strongly disagree with this decision. It’s foolish, he might be risking the peace.”

“I agree with you, my friend.” Qui-Gon looked at her most earnestly. “We will have to do what we can to keep the peace in his place.”

Shaak Ti nodded, adjusting her headscarf until it was perfectly symmetrical on the wire frame below again. The frame was shaped like a pair of small horns – many people from the tiny realm Shili wore such a headdress with a striped scarf over it. “Then we should go”, she said. “We’re expected.”

She lead the way to the kings council chambers, where a bunch of humans had already assembled. Obi-Wan recognized Count Yan Dooku, who was standing there with a young pair.

The king sat slumped in his chair, his face hid behind his hands. His second son, Prince Savage, was standing behind him, one hand on his father’s shoulder. His amber eyes were swollen, probably from crying. At his side stood a scrawny figure in a dark purple cloak whose face Obi-Wan could not see. They were probably a shadow, a bodyguard to the prince.

“Ah, Qui-Gon, you brought your sister’s son, I see." Count Dooku had approached, and with him the young couple. Both seemed to be only a little younger than Obi-Wan, and both were almost outrageously good-looking.

“May I present”, Dooku said. “Queen Amidala from Naboo, and her fiancé, Anakin Skywalker.”

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan bowed their heads before the pair, who returned the gesture.

“You must be the delegates sent by the dragon council, right?”, Anakin Skywalker asked in a hushed voice. Shaak Ti nodded and introduced herself and her two companions. The queen smiled brightly at Obi-Wan, who immediately blushed and looked down at his shoes.

“Alright, everybody!”, the count’s voice rose. “Everyone who was to be expected here today has arrived. I suggest, your majesty, that we commence.”

King Palpatine lifted his head. “Oh, yes, of course”, he croaked, standing up. “As I am sure you all know already, my son, crown prince Maul, has been found murdered in cold blood this morning. There was no evidence of who might have done it, nor were there traces of feet or hooves… or talons. Still, my dear son’s head… wasn’t to be found anywhere. We can only speculate, but the crime might have been committed by a dragon.”

“Your majesty”, Shaak Ti perched up. “May I speak?”

“You may, you may…” The king sat back down. Shaak Ti stepped forward, until she was sure that everyone could see and hear her.

“My name is Saar Shaak Ti, I origin from Shili and work here at the corusanti court as official representative of the Saar community in all countries. I wish to inform you that, while we can’t deny that the crime might have been committed by a Saar or a Quik, there was no official order to do such thing from the Ker. The Ardmagar as well as all other Saar wish to keep the peace upright; we suffered terrible losses during the war and lost many good Saar - we do not want this to happen again. Before this horrible incident occurred, it was - it still is - the Ardmagar's plan to come to Corusant Capital to renew the peace treaty. If it was indeed a Saar who murdered the crown prince, the Ker will do their part in finding them.”

“Thank you, Saar Shaak Ti”, the king said. “I see you have brought someone else with you?”

Qui-Gon stepped forth and bowed deeply. “Your majesty, I go by the name Qui-Gon Jinn. The Ker sent me in the place of the Ardmagar and Saar Mace Windu, his second-in-command, since both of them aren’t able to come here just now as much as they would wish they were able to. Of course, I will do my best to find the murderer.”

“Thank you.” The king looked at the young queen of Naboo. “May I ask your majesty Amidala to speak next? Corusant always held the council of the Naboo in high esteem.”

The queen stepped forth, bowing her head gracefully.

“Naboo wasn’t a part of the big war against the Saar forty years ago”, she said. She had a nice voice, sweet but with a sharp undertone. Obi-Wan liked it. “My people always valued their impartiality, though today, I take my stand with the Saar. Since the war they have been known as good people, as peacekeepers even. I can’t believe them to be cruel like that and to murder someone. I think someone might be willing to frame them for it though.”

“And why would anyone wish to do that?”, Count Dooku asked.

“I am not sure, I merely stated that it was a possibility we must consider”, queen Amidala said gently. “But if someone was against the treaty with the Saar, framing them for something like this would be the easiest way for them.”

The discussions went on and on for hours, a constant back and forth. At some point, Qui-Gon excused himself to contact the Ker, and only minutes after he had gone, the king declared that this would be enough for today.

“It doesn’t make sense to continue until every delegate has arrived”, he said. “And I have a son to carry to his grave. You will, of course, be given quarters in the palace for the time being. I will let you know when the conversation will continue. Farewell for now.”

He left the room, his son and the hooded figure right behind him. The delegates left as well, until only the young pair from Naboo, Shaak Ti and Obi-Wan remained in the room.

Qui-Gon came back, looking tensed. “Obi-Wan”, he said. “Saar Windu will be there in two days, but I have to leave right now. The Ardmagar wishes me to investigate and to find every Saar who might qualify as murderer of prince Maul.”  
“Alright. What do you want me to do?”

“Stay here in the palace”, Qui-Gon said. “I want you to keep an eye on prince Savage, and on the negotiations. Perhaps you can stay with Shaak Ti?”

“Of course”, Shaak Ti said. “I rarely sleep in my quarters here, I won’t need the bed, I don’t mind sharing.”

Obi-Wan thanked her.

“Oh, and Obi-Wan?” Qui-Gon lowered his voice. “Don’t tell anyone that you’re not human. It must remain a secret. Don’t let anyone see.”

Obi-Wan held back a sigh. “Of course.”

“Good boy.” Qui-Gon turned around and left, Shaak Ti following him. Obi-Wan was alone. Well, almost alone… What to do now? Where to start?

“Hey”, a voice said behind him, and Obi-Wan spun around. It was Anakin Skywalker, who was standing behind him. His dark hair fell into his face, fine strands almost covering his bright blue eyes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name earlier”, he said, smiling at Obi-Wan. His smile was a cocky one, a confident one.

“I didn’t throw it”, Obi-Wan said. Skywalker laughed, as did his fiancé next to him.

“What Ani is trying to do is ask you for your name politely”, she said. “Politics and politeness aren’t exactly his strength.”

She held out her hand. Obi-Wan took and shook it.

“My name’s Padmé”, the queen said. “This there is Anakin. And you are?”  
“Obi-Wan.” He could feel a blush creep onto his face again.

“And you are here with Saar Jinn?”, the queen said. Obi-Wan nodded.

“Are you a Saar, too?”, Skywalker asked. Obi-Wan’s blush darkened as he quickly shook his head.

“I’m just Qui-Gon’s apprentice.”

“I see. So why are you here?” The young man cocked his head. “I mean, if you’re not a Saar, why are you here with the Saar delegates? Saar Jinn didn’t have to bring you, did he?”  
“I am here because he ordered me to”, Obi-Wan said sourly. “It’s as simple as that.”  
“Anakin didn’t mean to offend you”, Padmé said quickly. “We’re on the side of the Saar.”

“I figured as much, your majesty”, Obi-Wan said, giving her his polite negotiator-smile. “I appreciate it, believe me.”

“Soooo”, Padmé said. “Would you be up for finding the murderer? With us?”

_Where on earth was this conversation going?_

“I… uh…”  
“Because we – Anakin and I, and our personal guard – want to take matters in our own hands”, Padmé explained. “We could need someone who knows the Ker personally. I assume you know them, since you’re an apprentice to one of the Ker’s delegates…?”

Obi-Wan thought about it. He thought about what could go wrong – a lot of things could go wrong, really, so many things – but he also tried to listen to his heart. It wasn’t the way of the Ard to listen to this emotional stuff, of course, but still… the idea of trusting Padmé and Anakin felt right, like it was the thing he needed to do…

“What do you say?”, Padmé asked, and Obi-Wan pursed his lips. Now or never.

“Yes. I mean, yes, I will try to solve that mystery with you.”  


**To be continued….**


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!  
> Finally, I've come around to continuing with this fic... I saw HTTYD3 yesterday and it got me back into dragon-mood, I think. I have to do a religion-/ theology-class assignment at the moment and then, for two months or so, I'll have my finals, so it will be long until I can post again, but I hope you like this here for now.  
> I'll appreciate every kind of review or critique, as always.  
> Loads of love,  
> Lotta

Shaak Ti had been understating matters when saying that she was only rarely sleeping in her quarters – the bed was covered by a cotton blanket that obviously hadn’t been moved for months and that was covered in a thin layer of dust. There was dust _everywhere_ , a fine layer of it on every bit of furniture except a round meditation pillow under the window.

Shaak Ti had told him to put his belongings in the bottom drawer of the dresser, since she only used the top one, and shown him where he could get fresh water if he needed it, before leaving for some kind of meeting. When Obi-Wan settled for the night, she hadn’t yet returned, and when he woke up the next day, she was already gone. It went the same way the next day, and the following days. The king and his son never left their private rooms, and were constantly heavily guarded, so there wasn’t much Obi-Wan could do in terms of looking after the prince like he’d been told. Instead, he spent his days with Padmé and Anakin, who didn’t have much to do since there weren’t any official meetings they were taking part in. Obi-Wan quickly grew _attached_ to the pair – to use the words of the Ker – he liked them, felt comfortable and strangely relaxed around them, and not the way he was when being with Luminara and Quinlan – he also enjoyed their company, of course, but with Padmé and Anakin, it was different. Perhaps because they had no idea he wasn’t a normal human being. Usually, whenever he interacted with people, they assumed he was a dragon due to the situation, or _they_ were Saar and knew who he was. It wasn’t like that with them.

Obi-Wan was also very fond of Padmé’s royal guard, a group of ten men lead by Anakin himself. They were all born in the kingdom Kamino, and they looked extremely similar, and since they all referred to each other as _brothers_ , it had taken Obi-Wan a while to understand that they weren’t, in fact, _all_ related to each other. There were the triplets Rex, Fives and Cody, and a pair of twins named Waxer and Boil, who also had a cousin within the guard, a young man named Trapper.

They were loyal men, each and every one of them, and Padmé and Anakin treated them as equals rather than as replaceable mercenaries, like other royals might have done it. The soldiers were treated with respect and gentleness, and they ate and lived with the pair rather than in the kitchens with the other guards and the servants. They also had their own rooms next to Padmé’s and Anakin’s chambers. Obi-Wan liked this. He had always hated the way some people seemed to separate people into classes of different worth. This was another thing the Ker would have frowned upon if they had known. It wasn’t the Saar way to criticise human standards and traditions like the class or legal systems, they were to be tolerated and accepted instead. The Saar had their own system for themselves, which was the only system they should care about.

But in fact, the longer Obi-Wan was around the Naboo guard and Padmé and Anakin, the more he felt strengthened in his opinion that, in many points, the Ker’s rules weren’t quite right. He felt guilty about it, and every night in bed he swore that the next day, that he’d ban these thoughts from his mind and return to the Saar way of life without emotion or attachment. He never did. Every day again, he realized that he was feeling to good and happy around them to bring himself to stop and return to what he knew. This, of course, did not help nor lessened his guilt about it.

 

Nine days after the war-bell had been rung, Prince Maul was buried. King Palpatine had decided to make it a big, ostentatious feast, one where his son was celebrated rather than painting an image of a victim. Prince Maul would forever be remembered as a martyr. By now, every delegate that had been expected had arrived, only the Ardmagar was missing. Saar Windu stood there in the church in his place, in brown robes and cream-coloured tunics as always, hood drawn up so that his face was hidden in shadows. In the middle of all the humans in their white mourning robes he looked misplaced.

Obi-Wan stood next to Padmé and Anakin, also in his tunics, though without the brown hooded robes. He had no desire to stick out, he already looked strange enough standing next to the queen and future king of Naboo in his simple everyday-wear.

The corpse of the prince had been cleaned and clothed in extravagant black and red garments, his hands were painted dark red with black lines and swirls and folded on his chest; his crown, which looked as if it was made from antlers, was placed on the white pillow where his head would have been, had it been found.

The king and his other son stood by the coffin whilst the parson spoke a long prayer for the prince’s soul. Palpatine looked older than ever, his eyes red rimmed and swollen, his hands which he held folded in front of his torso were shaking. Prince Savage wore simple grey tunics and black armour, his bald head and face were painted in yellow and black and he wore his crown – one that was also made from antlers but far smaller than Maul’s. If he had cried as much as his father, it wasn’t visible. Behind him, as always, stood the hooded figure in the purple cloak, she shadow.

When the parson was done with his prayer, the choir on the balcony above the altar started singing. It was a triumphant and somewhat melancholy swan song, written in a language Obi-Wan didn’t recognize.

 

_“Kor-ah, Mah-tah, Kor-ah, Rah-tah-mah._

_Kor-ah, Rah-tah-mah. Yood-hah, Kor-ah._

_Kor-ah, Syahd-ho. Rah-tah-mah, Daan-yah._

_Kor-ah, Kee-lah, Daan-yah._

_Nyo-hah, Kee-lah, Kor-ah, Rah-tah-mah._

_Syahd-ho, Kee-la, Kor-ah, Rah-tah-mah._

_Kor-ah, Daa-nyah. Kor-ah, Rah-tah-mah._

_Kor-ah, Daa-nyah. Kor-ah, Rah-tah-mah._

_Nyo-hah, Kee-lah, Kor-ah, Rah-tah-mah._

_Syahd-ho, Kee-la, Daan-yah, Rah-tah-mah._ _Kor-ah!”_

 

The coffin was closed, nailed shut and carried out of the church, followed by the king, the prince, his shadow and about everyone else present. Obi-Wan stayed behind for a moment, as did Anakin. They waited until most people had left the church, then left as well, going the opposite direction of the procession following the coffin.

“All that pomp and the music and the flags and flowers... it all seems rather overdone to me", Anakin stated. "And not particularly wise."

"No, wise is not the word that comes to mind", Obi-Wan agreed. "I understand that the king is mourning, but the murder of the prince is a definite attack against Corusant and against the peace, and the king… he doesn't seem to take it as seriously as he should."

"I agree.... wait, do you hear this?" Anakin stopped abruptly, staring over to a mob of people who were shouting at the top of their lungs. Obi-Wan stopped as well, his gaze following Anakin's.

"Oh no", he whispered.

Some of the people were holding banners and signs. _Dragons are evil! We don't want a new treaty! Be-gone, worms! A dragon killed Prince Maul!_

“Anti-Dragon activists”, Obi-Wan huffed. “Of course…”  
A high-pitched scream was to be heard in the middle of the mob, one that didn’t sound angry, but scared. Obi-Wan cursed and started to run, Anakin right next to him. They more or less jumped into the mass of people, pushing through to the middle where several tall, muscly men were in the midst of beating up two girls.

“Pick someone of your own size!”, Anakin shouted, pushing away one of the men and kicking another one. Obi-Wan quickly grabbed the two girls before anything else could happen, and lead them out of the mess.

“Are you alright?”, Obi-Wan asked. One of the girls – she had an oval-shaped face with olive skin and small, diamond-shaped tattoos under her bright blue eyes – nodded and tried to pull her black but shimmery headscarf back over her short dark hair. “Thank you, Sir.”

“Yes”, the other girl said. She was shorter, and looked similar to Saar Shaak Ti - definitely from Shili, with the same white-spotted bronze skin and blue-white headscarf. “Thank you. A lot.”

Obi-Wan nodded courtly and looked over to the mob of activists. Anakin seemed to be close to exploding with anger. He shouted and kicked and punched, until the activists turned around and ran. Only then, he walked over to Obi-Wan and the girls. “You alright?”, he asked. “Any injuries?”

“No, Sir”, the taller girl said. “And thank you, too.”

“Why were they attacking you?”, Anakin asked.

“They thought…” The girl trailed of, and the Shili girl took over. “They seemed to think we looked like dragons.”

“That’s absurd”, Anakin scroffed. “No-one _looks_ like a dragon!”

Obi-Wan opened his mouth, just about to say that someone as violent and riled up as those anti-dragon-activists probably didn’t care about that and just beat up anyone who looked at them funnily, when suddenly a wave of dizziness overcame him. He slumped down, and the world around him grew dark.

 

_“Come on, Obi-Wan, it’s not that difficult.” Qui-Gon gave him an encouraning smile. “You have to imagine that your mind is a cupboard, and you have a set of wooden boxes you can sort your thoughts into. One for your own memories, one for Eskar’s memories, one for this, one for that.”_

_“Easy for you to say that it’s not hard”, Obi-Wan mumbled. “You’ve done this for your whole life!”_

_“I have, but I am certain you’ll get the hang of it soon, too.” Qui-Gon ruffled his hair. “Want to try it again?”_

_Obi-Wan didn’t, but he also didn’t want to disappoint his uncle. He nodded._

_“Alright, close your eyes. Imagine the cupboard, and the boxes. You’ve got that?”_

_Before his inner eye, the image of a big, old wooden wardrobe took shape. He imagined the door opening, and a stack of boxes on the inside. This part was easy, it was the sorting of his thoughts that he struggled with._

_“Take one of the boxes”, Qui-Gon instructed._

_Obi-Wan imagined opening the box that was right on top of the stack._

_“Now conjure up the memories of your mother. Give them a shape, and imagine that you put them into the box.”_

_Obi-Wan took a deep breath and let all the memories he had experienced so far run through his mind, sped up, blurred, no sounds, just images. He imagined every one of them turning into a colourful piece of paper, and he imagined putting them into the box, one upright behind the other._

_Flying Saar dragons._

_A musical tune._

_The feeling of the ocean on talons when flying just above the surface._

_A round, violet fruit that smelled incredibly sour, but tasted sweet and rich._

_A little girl, wrapped in a thick black blanket, her round bronze face covered in white spots that formed shapes on her cheeks and forehead and above her large bright blue eyes, her blue-and-white headscarf was slipping back, revealing dark curly hair._

_“Take your time. When you’re done, close the box and put it back.”_

_Obi-Wan let the last few memories fall into his imaginary box, then closed the lid and put it back into the wardrobe, next to the first stack.”_

_When he opened his eyes, there was a proud grin on his face, and his headaches had lessened, and – most importantly – he saw his uncle smile at him proudly._

_“See, I told you you could do it.” He ruffled Obi-Wan’s hair again. “Very well done.”_

 

**To be continued...**


	6. Chapter Six

“…an? Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan, can you hear me?”

Obi-Wan opened his eyes to seeing four concerned faces hover above him. Anakin, Rex, Kix and the two girls they had rescued from the mob.

“Are you alright?”, Kix asked. “Can you see and hear us?”

Obi-Wan nodded and sat up, squeezing his eyes shut until the remains of the dizziness were gone.

“Don’t stand up yet”, Kix advised.

“Thank you”, Obi-Wan said. “But I’m fine. I’ve had this before… a few times.”

“What, random fainting?” Anakin looked and sounded worried – all of them looked worried, really.

“Yes, pretty much.” Obi-Wan gave them a tiny smile. “I’m quite alright, I assure you. It’s nothing.”

_Only a memory from my dead dragon mother… nothing to worry about._

“Are you sure?”, the Shili girl asked, and looked at him with her big, round, blue eyes. She reminded Obi-Wan of the girl in his mother’s memories, which was strange, since she had to be a lot younger than him and therefor couldn’t possibly be the said girl.

“Yes, I am”, he answered, and stood up. He swayed on his feet for a moment, but then caught himself.   
“Have I been out for long?”

“No, only a few minutes”, Anakin answered. “Rex and Kix saw you fall and came over.”

“Huh.” Obi-Wan nodded. “Alright, now, I am fine. Actually, I have to go… I’ll see you later.”  
Luminara. He needed Luminara’s help – she was insanely talented when it came to mind-organizing. She would know how and where to sort this vision.

Obi-Wan ignored the protest Anakin, Kix and Rex voiced, turned around and walked away as fast as he could, trying to make safe, determined steps and not to stumble.

 

A few hours and a long conversation with Luminara in the Ker’s library later, Obi-Wan returned to the castle. His friend had talked him through his vision and together, they had tried to unravel its threads to understand its meaning – at least the parts that wanted to be understood. There wasn’t much they understood, truth to be told, but speaking to his friend had helped Obi-Wan greatly. He felt calmer now, as if some kind of mist had cleared from his mind.

When he came back to Saar Shaak Ti’s quarters, he was surprised that he found both the Shili Saar and the two girls from earlier there. Shaak Ti explained that Anakin and his men had brought them to her, and that they would both live under her protection. It had something to do with some kind of Shili code of honour, and also, apparently, the Shili girl, Ahsoka, was a distant relative of Shaak Ti.

“I can find you a new accommodation if you wish”, she said. “Or you can go and take Anakin Skywalker’s offer.”

Obi-Wan frowned. “What offer?”

“When he brought the girls here, he said he’d offer you a place in the quarters he currently occupies with the queen and their men.” Shaak Ti shrugged. “I assumed you knew of that.”

Obi-Wan shook his head, then excused himself. Only an hour later he had brought his few belongings to his new room. It was next to the soldier’s rooms and it was small, but it had a bed, a table, a small shelf, a chest and a round window with yellow-stained glass. It was a very nice room, nicer than anything he had ever lived in. It was nicer than he deserved.

“I hope you’ll settle in”, Padmé told him as she showed him the room. She leaned against the doorframe, which seemed to be rather casual pose for a queen. “Should you need something, or should anything trouble you, you can tell us, we’ll try our best to help.”

“Thank you.” Obi-Wan swallowed. “Padmé, may I ask… why did you and Anakin offer me this room? You didn’t have to, you were under no obligation to do so…”

“But we _wanted_ to offer it”, Padmé answered. “You are already our friend, and that’s what friends do.”

_Attachment_ , something yelled at the back of Obi-Wan’s mind. _Friends are attachments, attachments are forbidden…_

He shoved the thought aside.

“Thank you then. Again. I feel… honoured to be your and Anakin’s friend.”

Padmé laughed. “You will get used to it, I’m sure. Even if you’re not used to having friends outside the Saar community.”

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you… How…”

“I just took a guess.” Padmé shrugged. “You are a Saar’s apprentice and you lived in another Saar’s quarters. You seem a bit uneasy around other normal humans. Like I said, I took a guess.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “That sounds like rather reasonable deduction.”

“One of many skills a good queen must possess.” Padmé gave him a last smile before leaving him alone. Only a few moments later, Anakin appeared at the door.

“Are you alright?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “I already thanked Padmé, and I must thank you too.”

“Well…” Anakin chuckled. “I bet that Padmé told you already, but you’re very welcome here. You’re our friend. Friends do such things for each other.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Yes, she told me.”

“And you better believe her.”

Obi-Wan smiled softly. “I do.”

“Good.” Anakin turned around to leave again. Obi-Wan pursed his lips, a storm of thoughts and worries raging through his mind in the matter of a second. _Should anything trouble you, you can tell us,_ Padmé had said. And if he was to live here, sooner or later, someone would find out about his secret. He couldn’t keep it forever, no matter how hard he tried. With Shaak Ti, that hadn’t been a problem… but could he trust Anakin, Padmé and their guards? Could he trust them not to tell his secret to anyone else, could he trust them to accept him after he confessed this?

_Should anything trouble you, you can tell us._

They were his friends, even though he shouldn’t allow this for himself. They were his friends, like Luminara and Quinlan. He trusted those two. He had to trust them as well. If he couldn’t trust his friends… whom could he trust?

“I… Anakin, may I talk to you for a moment?”

Anakin stopped and turned back to Obi-Wan, a surprised smile on his face. “Sure. Yes, of course, what is it?”

“I… uh…” Obi-Wan pursed his lips and kneaded his hands nervously. “When we met, you asked me whether I am a dragon.”

“Yes… aaaannd…?”

“And… um… I have something I need to tell you before I… start living here. With all of you, separated only by thin walls and a door.”

Anakin didn’t say anything, obviously waiting for Obi-Wan to continue.

Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut and took a shuddering breath, then grabbed his sleeve, untied the criss-crossed string that held it closed and pushed the fabric up so that his silver became visible. He heard Anakin release a long breath, then steps… and then warm fingers closed around his wrist. Obi-Wan opened his eyes again and looked at the other man in confusion. Anakin didn’t seem moved by this, not really, he didn’t seem surprised, or…

“So that’s what you were hiding.” Anakin smiled at him gently. “Obi-Wan, you don’t have to worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Aren’t you… surprised?”

“No, not really.” Anakin laughed softly. “You see, I have a secret too.”

Obi-Wan’s head shot up. “What?”

“Yes. I am a Saar.”

“No!” Obi-Wan stared at the other man. “You’re pulling my leg!”

“No, I swear that I’m not.” Anakin grabbed his hand and looked at him earnestly. “I don’t know why, but my… my egg… was left somewhere in Tatooine. I turned into my human form when I was about three years old, and then, they caught me and made me a slave. I ran away when I was nine, and somehow ended up in Naboo. I met Padmé, and we became friends, and when she was chosen to be queen at fourteen… well, I don’t suppose that’s important now. However, the Saar don’t know about me. The Ker doesn’t. I’m not Saar Skywalker, I am Anakin Skywalker, fiancé of the queen of Naboo, or Anakin Skywalker, general of the royal guard of Naboo, or just… just Anakin. And you’re Obi-Wan. Who cares whether you’ve got scales or, I don’t know, gills, spikes, whatever. I know that I don’t care.”

Relief flooded Obi-Wan’s mind, and to his own surprise and horror he started sobbing. Anakin was quick to pull him into a hug.

“Hey, it’s alright”, he said softly. “You’re alright. Did you really think I’d send you away if I knew?”

“I thought… maybe… you’d hate me”, Obi-Wan confessed.

“Never”, Anakin promised. “Did the Ker make you think that you should be hated?”

“No.” Obi-Wan took a few long breaths and felt himself calm down. He hadn’t realized how much he had needed this, how much he had needed to tell someone, and how much he had needed someone to react this nice, this gentle… “I just… I never showed them to anyone. Only my uncle has seen them. The Ker hasn’t. Hell, even my closest friends haven’t.”

“Well, let me guess, they are Saar as well?”

Obi-Wan nodded.

“Maybe that’s why you didn’t show them”, Anakin suggested. “You know, because they are more dragon than human. You are in the middle. Maybe you felt more comfortable telling another human? Since you couldn’t know I wasn’t human...”

“Yes, maybe that’s why.” Obi-Wan gently freed himself from Anakin’s arms. “But whatever the reason was, I am glad I told you.”

“Me too.” Anakin smiled. “I’ll leave you alone now, so you can unpack.”

Obi-Wan nodded, a smile on his lips.

 

**To be continued...**


End file.
